Pane Panelle Has Closed

1. August 2010: Stuzzicheria opens with Mike Franzetti as the chef and Bar Stuzzichini’s Paul Di Bari consulting.
2. November 2010: Di Bari leaves.
3. April 2011: Franzetti leaves to be the chef at Dean Street in Brooklyn.
4. April 2011: Ron Suhanosky, founder of Sfoglia, is hired as chef.
5. April 2011: The decor and food change.
6. August 2011: Suhanosky leaves, to be replaced by Paul Di Bari (see #1).
7. August 2011: Pane Panelle, the restaurant-within-a-restaurant, opens.
8. March 2012: Stuzzicheria/Pane Panelle is put on the market.
9. January 2012: The name of the restaurant is changed to Pane Panelle, absorbing the sandwich counter.

It’s a shame because the food was good and not crazy expensive. From the looks of things—no “for rent” signs, papered windows—it found a buyer. Anyone who knows what’s replacing it should whisper in my ear at tribecacitizen@gmail.com or 917-209-6473. Anonymity guaranteed.

UPDATE: The rumor I’ve heard—from two sources, although not yet confirmed—is that Pane Panelle’s owner didn’t sell, but instead is partnering with at least one owner of Macao Trading Co., its neighbor up the block. After a month or two of rejiggering, the space will reopen as a “Spanish-style bar/lounge.”

UPDATE #2: Another rumor rolled in…. That the upstairs tenant, Tutorspree, is taking over the ground floor for offices. Trying to find someone to clarify….

UPDATE #3: I just heard from another source that it’s folks from Macao and they’re going in a “Spanish-Mexican” direction. The Tutorspree idea doesn’t strike me as likely, seeing as how they’d be paying a premium for street-level space (which they don’t need) and since the space is already vented, it’s of prime interest to restaurateurs.

4 Comments

Well, that blows. We only discovered the place a few months ago, and in a recent editorial piece that discussed NYC’s most highly regarded local snacks we included their Pane Panelle (it had won recognition from a number of foodie sites as one of the city’s best sandwiches). We even cited Tribeca Citizen.

They had a nice, mellow happy hour, with drink specials & low prices for bar snacks, which were many steps above typical bar snacks. It was a great place to just hang out, and talk to people. I once had a special snack that was a heavenly deep fried eggplant ball that would make you forget falafel forever. A real shame.